1.Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal Bag National Film Award For Best Actor
Bollywood stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal have jointly bagged the National Film Award for best actor for their roles in Andhadhun and Uri.Gujarati movie Hellaro has been awarded the best feature film.Aditya Dhar won the Best Director award for his debut Uri: The Surgical Strike while Andhadhun also won awards for best Hindi film and best adapted screenplay.Actor Keerthy Suresh won the best actress award for her portrayal of yesteryear star Savitri in Telugu film Mahanati.Badhaai Ho, about a family dealing with a late pregnancy, was adjudged the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment and veteran actor Surekha Sikri bagged the best supporting actress for her role of a cantankerous matriarch.Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman was named the best film on social issues.Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavaat bagged best choreography for Ghoomer and the best music director award for Bhansali.Arijit Singh has been awarded the best male playback singer.Singer-lyricist Swanand Kirkire won the best supporting actor award for Marathi film Chumbak. The awards were announced by jury head Rahul Rawail.
2.President Kovind Hosts At-Home Reception In Honour Of Freedom Fighters At Rashtrapati Bhavan
President Ram Nath Kovind hosted At-Home reception in the honour of freedom fighters at Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening.The President also felicitated freedom fighters from across the country on the occasion.The event was held to mark the 77th anniversary of Quit India Movement.Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were also present on the occasion.The event was also attended by Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other dignitaries.
3.President Gives Assent To J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.A Gazette Notification to this effect was issued by Ministry of Law and Justice. The Parliament had passed the bill in the just concluded session.The Act seeks to make Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory with legislature and Ladakh Union Territory without legislature.A Home Ministry notification informed, the two new Union territories will come into existence on 31st Octoberthis year.
4.DMK Wins Vellore Lok Sabha Constituency Election
The DMK has won the closely fought election in the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency by a slender margin of over 8000 votes.The party candidate Kathir Anand has secured 4,85,340 votes as against the 4,77,199 votes polled by his close contestant, AC Shanmugham of the AIADMK.With this win, the DMK has increased its strength in the Lower House of Parliament to 24, further reinforcing its position as the second biggest party in the opposition, next only to the Congress.Election to Vellore on August 5 was necessitated by the rescinding of polls during the General Elections following huge haul of money there in last April.
5.Nearly Two Million Muslims To Perform Haj In Saudi Arabia
Nearly two million Muslims from across the world including India will perform Haj in Saudi Arabia. Marking the beginning of five-day pilgrimage, Haj pilgrims converged at Mina.After offering pre-dawn prayers, they will proceed to plains of Arafat today for the main ritual of Haj -reciting prayers.They will spend the day there praying and asking for God’s forgiveness.The pilgrims will listen the Khutba-e-Haj or Haj Sermon at Nimra mosque and offer midday and afternoon prayers together before leaving for Muzdalifah in the evening, where they will spend the night under the open sky.The pilgrims will return to Mina for ritual of animal sacrifice and symbolic stoning of the devil.For the first time since independence, a record number of 2 lakh pilgrims from India have gone there to perform Haj this year.
6.Prime Minister Narendra Modi To Visit Bhutan On August 17
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhutan on 17th of this month. During the two-day visit of Mr. Modi, India and Bhutan will explore ways to further strengthen and diversify bilateral partnership.Besides, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate a hydropower project and will roll out RuPay Cards.During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.India will also review defence and security matters with Bhutan during the visit.
7.ADB Provides $200 Million To Upgrade Rural Roads In Maharashtra State
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $200 million to upgrade rural roads to all-weather standards in 34 districts of India’s Maharashtra State to better connect rural areas with markets and services.The project will build on their experience to upgrade 2100 kilo meters of rural roads to all-weather standards, including contractual maintenance for 5 years following construction.The project will also work with the rural infrastructure agency, the Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association (MRRDA), to develop road safety, road asset management, contract management, and climate resilient design.The total cost of the project is $296 million, of which the government will provide $96 million. It is due for completion at the end of September 2024.
8.IMF Warns Increasing US Tariffs Could Cut China’s Growth Sharply
International Monetary Fund, IMF, has warned that increasing United States tariffs could cut China’s growth sharply.China’s economy is slowing already due to the trade conflict with the United States.The IMF trimmed its growth forecast for China to 6.2 per cent this year, assuming no new tariffs are imposed.But in the past week US President Donald Trump announced a new round of punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, despite a truce agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May, and Beijing responded by halting all purchases of US agricultural goods.Trump has accused Beijing of trying to keep its currency weaker to gain a trade advantage against the United States.IMF has called for a quick resolution to the trade conflict between these two countries as the impact would have significant negative spill overs globally.
9.Drive Launched To Promote Water Conservation Activities Among School Students
Union ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat have launched the Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha drive to promote water conservation activities among school students.They have launched the drive at Kendriya Vidyalaya Number 2 at Delhi Cantonment.The Department of School Education and Literacy under the HRD Ministry has started the drive to promote water conservation activities among school students so that they can become competent, conscientious and committed citizens of the nation.The department has prepared a detailed outline to implement the programme in all the schools of the country.
10.Centre Starts Registration For Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare initiated the process of registration for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY).It is an old-age pension scheme to all Small and Marginal Farmers in the country.Union Agriculture Minister for Narendra Tomar expressed that around 418 farmers have registered their names with Common Service Centres in different states during the first hour of the launch at 11.Under the scheme a monthly pension of 3,000 rupees will be provided to the eligible farmers with up to two acres of land-holding on attaining the age of 60 years.The scheme will be formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
11.Centre Aims To Cover Entire Nation Under ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ Scheme: Ram Vilas Paswan
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has informed that Centre aims to cover almost every part of the country under ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme by 1st June next year.Mr Paswan shared the pace of the scheme will be determined by the computerization of the Public Distribution System.Ration card portability, the pilot project of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’, has been formally launched by the Minister between Andhra Pradesh – Telangana and Gujarat – Maharashtra.Mr Paswan also reviewed the distribution of ration under the scheme through video conferencing.Intra-state portability of ration card is already there in seven states, including Haryana, Rajasthan Punjab, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Tripura and by 1st January next year, inter-state portability of card will be implemented in these states.
12.India’s Naaz Joshi Creates History As She Wins 3rd Consecutive Miss World Diversity Title
India’s transsexual woman Naaz Joshi has made the country proud with a third successive victory in the beauty pageant Miss World Diversity.Naaz was crowned Miss World Diversity 2019 on August 3 in Port Louis, Mauritius.Naaz competed against 14 other international contestants in Mauritius.For the finale round, she donned a traditional blue lehenga choli, and portrayed herself as the powerful Indian Goddess, who stands for ‘shakti‘ – the feminine source of power and women empowerment.
13.BCCI Agrees To Come Under The Ambit Of NADA
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).This landmark decision makes Indian Cricket’s governing body a sports federation as per government norms despite being financially autonomous.Sports Secretary Radheshyam Jhulaniya, who along with NADA Director General Navin Agarwal met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri along with the Board’s General Manager (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim in New Delhi infirmed that the Board has given in writing that it would adhere to the anti-doping policy of NADA.The implication of this development is expected to be massive as BCCI now becomes a designated National Sports Federation and will face more pressure to come under the government’s Right to Information Act.The BCCI had been vehemently opposing signing up with NADA, calling itself an autonomous body, and not a National Sports Federation which relies on government funding.
